


Love With Trouble

by AngelLunaSky



Category: Gokusen - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2009-05-17
Updated: 2010-04-22
Packaged: 2017-11-16 23:07:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/544833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelLunaSky/pseuds/AngelLunaSky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[First published on LJ in 2009]<br/>After Shin graduates, he finally confesses his love to Yankumi. However, before she can decide on an answer, she gets into some serious trouble. Will Shin be able to heal the scars inflicted on her?</p>
<p>As for the warning, it more of implied rape, nothing graphic, but I felt I needed to put it there all the same.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I started this story a long time ago, and have debated many times if I should end it where I stopped posting in on LJ (chapter 5). Then I managed to put together chapter 6 and it could just as well end there. I keep it open however just in case the mood strikes me and I find the inspiration to write more chapters for this.

Yamaguchi Kumiko was sitting  in the yard outside the Ooeda residence, a cup of sake in her hand and an absentminded look on her face. The graduation was over and her first students were spread by the wind.  
”Ojou. Is there something troubling you?”  
Kumiko was abruptly brought back to reality and she glared at the man suddenly sitting beside her.  
”Tetsu! Don't sneak up on me like that!”  
”I'm terribly sorry Ojou. But it's a shame to be troubled on a beautiful night like this.”  
The heir of the Ooeda group sighed and turned her face towards the full moon.  
”Perhaps you're right.”  
”Did something happen?”  
”Not really. It's just something that Sawada said.”  
”Shin?”  
Kumiko nodded slowly. And then she said something that made Tetsu twitch.  
”He said that he loved me...”  
  
 _Kumiko was standing outside the school. The graduation-cermony was over and it was time for her to head back home. She was sure that everyone had prepared a celebration for her. She was just about to leave when something caught her eye. A boy in a school uniform and black hair with white highlights was leaning against the wall next to the gates._  
 _”Sawada? Why are you still here?”_  
 _The boy lifted his head to meet her eyes. His piercing stare never ciesed to amaze her. If he wanted to, he would probably be able to make a lot of people follow him. But today there was something different. There was the slightest hint of nervourosity in the back of his eyes._  
 _”I needed to talk to you. Do you have time?”_  
 _Kumiko nodded slowly and as she walked out of the gates he followed her without a word. They had reached the riverbank and sat down before Sawada opened his mouth again._  
 _”What will you do now?”_  
 _Kumiko looked at him with surprise._  
 _”What do you mean? I'll continue teaching of course.”_  
 _”But Yankumi...” he hesitated. ”Never mind.. But there is something I need to tell you.”_  
 _”What is it?”_  
 _Kumiko leaned back and closed her eyes. It was strange, but she always felt comfortable when she was with Sawada. He felt more like an equal than a student. She looked up when she heard him raise to his feet again. He was standing with his back to her so she couldn't see his expression, but his shoulders were tense._  
 _”Sawada? What's wrong?”_  
 _Without turning to look at her Shin let the words softly leave his mouth._  
 _”I love you...”_  
 _Kumiko blinked in surprise and sat up, intending to ask what he meant, but the boy had already started to run away from the riverbank. Kumiko looked after him in silence for a while before she got to her feet and absentmindedly started walking towards home. When she reached the outer gates of the Oeda mansion she stopped briefly to regain her composure. The words her favorite student had left behind him echoed in her head like a broken record._ 'I love you'. _Was he serious? She took a deep breath and opened the gates._  
  
”So...” Tetsu's voice brought Kumiko out of her thoughts. ”What did you answer him?”  
Kumiko sighed and turned her face back towards the sky.  
”I didn't have a chance to answer anything. He ran off as soon as he had said what he wanted to.”  
”I see. But you'll need to answer sometime.”  
”I know. But I don't know what to say. I mean, he's my student!”  
Tetsu sighed and put a hand on her shoulder.  
”Ojou. He's not your student anymore remember. He graduated already.”  
Kumiko looked at him in surprise for a second before finding her composure again.  
”You're right. But still.”  
”You don't have to decide right now right? Think it through thoroughly.”  
Before Kumiko could answer she heard her phone ring. She hurridely picked it up and listened to the panicked voice on  the other end.  
“What do you mean you were attacked?”  
Tetsu looked at her in surprise at her raised voice, but Kumiko didn't notice. She was already halfway out the gate, running to the aid of one of the younger in the Oeda family. She was in such a hurry that she didn't notice the young boy on a side road as she passed it.  
  
Shin was troubled. He had been home to shower and change clothes and now he was aimlessly roaming the streets. Before he noticed his feet had brought him close to _her_ house. In the same moment he realized that, he saw the woman in question rush off somewhere. She didn't see him, but he could tell that something happened. He brushed away his incertainity and quickly followed her.  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Shin followed Yankumi through the city, taking care not to get too close. When they reached a big abandoned house, he suddenly  realized what she was doing. She was throwing herself into a fight. Again. Shin clenched his fists and made a quick decision. This time he wouldn't let her fight alone. He had done that too many times, only been able to watch her put herself in danger. It was frustrating and he wouldn't let it happen again. But before he could do anything, he felt something hit the back of his head, hard. He stumbled, but were caught by strong arms. He glanced back and found himself looking at a scarred face. _Yakuza,_ was the only thing that had time to run through his head before everything went black.  
  
Kumiko was definitely in trouble. She was outnumbered one to twenty, but that wasn't the problem. She had fought against that many before. Her biggest problem was that they were all trained yakuza. She had come to the place where the young Oeda member had told her that he was, only to find him standing and chatting with the leader of this crew. Turned out he had gotten an offer to join them on a projekt if he could get her there. She glared at the young man between punches and kicks, but he only shrugged and turned away. Then everything became a million times worse.  
”Look what I found.” The voice from the door gained the attention of the whole room. The man entering was dragging something, or someone behind him. When he stopped he pulled the person up for them to see.  
”A stray dog on the wrong territory.”  
Kumiko couldn't help it. Before she could stop it a small whimper left her mouth. Sawada Shin was hanging from the big man's hand like a rag doll, clearly unconcious. She could see blood on his head and the sight made her shiver. Why was he here?  
”Sawada!” The call left her before she could even think of the consecuences of letting these guys know that she knew him. She ran towards the man but was stopped by two of the group. One of them grinned at her.  
”A friend of yours?”  
Kumiko gulped. She still wasn't sure why Sawada was there, but she knew that she had to get him out of there.  
”Let him go. He have nothing to do with this.”  
The other man looked at her in thought for a while.  
”If we let him go, you will do as we please and not put up a resistance?”  
Kumiko nodded slowly. She had no choice. She knew that they would probably kill her eventually, this was a yakuza fight after all, but she had to save Sawada. She couldn't let him get involved in this one. It was too dangerous for the kid.  
After getting her approvement the men released her and walked towards the man holding Sawada. She heard them telling him to dump the kid in the park without hurting him, then come back. She sighed in relief as she watched the man nod and walk off, carrying his burden over the shoulder. Then the men turned to her. The look in their eyes made her shiver with fear.  
”Now, what should we do with this little Ojou?”  
”Yeah. Just killing her on the spot is no fun.”  
The two men continued their musings while effectively driving Kumiko into a corner. She had nowhere to run. Not that she was planning to, since they still had the threat of hurting Sawada, but still. The feeling of helplessness washed over her like a tidal wave. She closed her eyes and waited for what they would do. When the first strike hit her, her knees gave in and she was left sitting on the ground. They continued hitting and kicking her, and after a few minutes she could feel her conciousness fade.  
  
When Shin woke up an hour later he found himself lying on a bench in the park. He had no idea how he got there, but the coldness in his body told him that it had not been Yankumi. She would have taken him home or to her house. Not leave him in the park. This could only mean one thing. Those guys that attacked him had brought him there. But why? Then his eyes widened in fear. There was only one explanation for this. Yankumi had bought him out! But that meant that she was in danger! He cursed and got to his feet. He had to find her, he had to  do something! With determined eyes he started running towards the Oeda mansion.  
When Shin reached the mansion he knew that he had been right. Tetsu, Minoru and Wakamatsu were sitting on the porch looking really worried. When they saw him their faces lightened up a  bit until they realized that he was alone.  
”She haven't come back, have she?” He was almost afraid to ask, but he needed to know. The three's heads shot up and looked at him.  
”Do you know something about Ojou?”  
”She just rushed of somewhere more than an hour ago and she still haven't contacted us.” Tetsu looked like he was about to cry. Shin lowered his eyes when he told them what happened.  
They listened intently when he told them how he had followed her but been beat unconsious. When they heard that he had been left in the park Wakamatsu hissed.  
”Those cowards probably used you to stop Ojou's resistance. They'll pay for this.”  
”There was one more thing”, Shin was a little nervous about telling them, but he had to. ”I'm pretty sure those guys were yakuza.”  
This got a reaction out of the three men.  
”Yakuza?!”  
”Why didn't you say that earlier?”  
”In that case we have to hurry!”  
Shin nodded and followed them out of the gate. But before they could rush off towards the warehouse, a gentle but tense voice stopped them.  
”If they are really yakuza, do you really think that they are still there? They let the boy go, so they have to have another place to go.”  
When they considered that, they couldn't argue with the old man.  
”Then what should we do?” Shin's voice was starting to sound desperate. ”We have to do something!”  
The aging yakuza-boss put his hand on Shin's shoulder.When the boy looked up he almost became afraid of the man. His mouth were a thin line and his eyes were as cold as ice. It didn't take a genious to tell that the man was furious.  
”Don't worry kid. We will... We will...”  
  



	3. Chapter 3

When Kumiko woke up she kept her eyes closed and tried to find out about her situation. The immediate thing she noticed was that her body hurt and her head was pounding. The second thing was the chains. Her hands were tightly bound above her head with thick, cold chains. She expected that they were connected to the roof, but they were the only restriction she could feel. She decided that it was time and slowly opened her eyes. It took her a few seconds to adjust to the darkness of the room - she was sure she wasn't still in the warehouse - but when she could see a little, she noticed that she was alone. The room was empty except for a desk and a chair. There were no windows so she couldn't tell what time it was, but her body felt like she had been hanging for quite some time. She testingly pulled on the chains but they didn't budge. Of course they didn't, she mentally scolded herself. The people who put her here trusted this chain enough not to leave a guard with her, so they had probably tested them out well before using them. She fought to notice something to tell her where she could be, but when she strained her eyes her head hurt, temporarily blinding her. She closed her eyes and tried to relax her body to ease the pain, with the result that darkness took her again.  
  
In another part of town, a worried Sawada Shin was sitting restlessly in a room of the Oeda mansion. The door had been firmly locked after he refused to stay behind when the others seached for Yankumi. The entire clan had been mobilized to find her and Tetsu had, with a symphatetic but jealous look in his eyes, ensured him that they would find her before dawn, but that didn't calm him down one bit. It wasn't that he didn't trust them to find her, it was more like a feeling in his stomach. He knew that she was in danger and he was the one who caused it. In his head that made it his job to find her and make everything right. The others hadn't agreed with him however, resulting in him getting locked up. It was really frustrating. Until his eyes fell on the only weakness of the room. The window! Shin valuated the only exit available for a few seconds before he resolutely drove his fist through the glass. Without considering the pain in his bleeding hand, he was soon running through the streets.  
”Wait for me. I will defenitely find you!”  
  
Kumiko bolted awake, but had to shut her eyes again at the sharp light in the room. The dream that woke her up had been so real it had scared her, but she quickly regained her senses. It was just a dream after all. She testingly opened her eyes again, blinking against the light. She wasn't alone anymore. At the desk stood the man that was probably the gang's leader. He  smirked at her with a look of mocking her.  
”Having trouble sleeping, beautiful?”  
Kumiko glared at the man, causing him to laugh.  
”You have some guts, I admit.” While he talked, the man walked up to stand in front of her. He let his hand slide carelessly against her cheek before he grabbed the chains above her hands. ”Too bad you can't do anything while you're hanging there.”  
”Why are you doing this?”  
Her question was met by more laughter, but no answer. Instead he moved his hand back down to her face.  
”You really are beautiful like this. So absolutely defenceless.” Kumiko felt his hand travel down to her shoulder, pulling with him the thin shirt she had put on when leaving the house, exposing one - except for a strap - bare shoulder. He looked up at her with uncovered hunger in his eyes.  
”Makes one want to taste it.”  
Kumiko shivered in disgust at the touch.  
”What are you going to do with me?” Even though she tried to hide her fear, she knew that it shone through in her voice. The man in front of her heard it too and his smirk grew wider.  
”Don't worry sweet. It will only hurt the first couple of times.”  
Kumiko could feel the blood leave her face when she realized what he meant. They couldn't, could they? She took one look at the door and all hope of it being a sick joke left. The rest of the group was standing outside the open door, waiting with twisted faces. She felt like throwing up.  
  
Meanwhile, Shin was in trouble. Sort of. He had been in too much of a hurry and had bumped straight into Tetsu and Minoru. The two were now staring at him like they had seen a ghost. Tetsu were the one to find his voice first.  
”Why the hell are you here kid?”  
Shin gave the older man a defying look.  
”I'm searching for Yankumi.”  
Tetsu sighed, but Shin could see a slight smile on his face.  
”I didn't really think that room would hold you for long. And it's not like I can't understand your feelings.”, the older man winked at him in a way that made Shin sure that Yankumi had told him about their conversation earlier. Tetsu's next words took him completely by surprise.  
”Just be careful kid. If something happened to you while searching for her, Ojou would never forgive herself.”  
Shin's lips crooked into something resembling a smile when he nodded.  
”She is the kind of person that would take all the blame on herself”, he agreed.  
  
An hour later, Kumiko was still hanging from the chains, only barely concious. Her clothes were in shambles and there was a fresh wound on her cheek. She had tried to resist at first, she still had her legs free after all, but had to stop when the leader pulled out a gun and fired, the bullet scraping her face. They had been right, it only hurt the first couple of times, then she had faded into a blessed numbness, feeling nothing. Now the feeling was returning and she closed her eyes, desperately trying to block the pain out. Instead she started to mentally say goodbye to the people she knew. Kumiko knew that she was going to die, she had known it since the moment she gave herself up to save Sawada. She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her heart that had nothing to do with her aching body. Sawada Shin. He would probably blame himself, at least for a while. She hoped that he would get over it quickly and move on with his life, far away from the yakuza-world. Images of the sharp-eyed youth flashed through her mind. She saw the bored look on his face during their first homeroom change into hate down by the river during Kuma's theft incident. She smiled painfully when she remembered the recognicion and respect in those eyes the first time he called her Yankumi. So much had happened durring her time at Shirokin that it was really a miracle they all survived until graduation. She wondered briefly if the boys of 3D would miss her, but was interrupted when the door opened. The group's leader was looking at her with a grin.  
”Time to go, doll.”  
  



	4. Chapter 4

”Shin, I found her! I'm following them now!” Uchi's urgent voice on the other end of the phone made Shin stop in his tracks.  
”Where are you?”  
”On the road that leads to that old closed-down factory.”  
”I'm on my way.” Shin hesitated before he asked the question he most dreaded the answer to. ”Uchi... How does she look?”  
He could hear his friend gulp on the other end.  
”Shin, it's bad, seriously bad. She's bruised and battered, and she's bleeding in the face. But that's not the worst. Her clothes are in shambles and she's not resisting at all, just goes along with them holding her up. I don't think she can walk on her own.”  
At this Shin drew a sharp breath and ran even faster.  
”Shin...” There was pain and fear in Uchi's voice that worried Shin.  
”Shin, her eyes are completely empty. It's really scary. What have they done to her...”  
Shin could feel every trace of blood leave his face. That couldn't be right. Yankumi was strong. Just what had they done to be able to break her? To stop himself from imagining it, he yelled into the phone.  
”I'll be there soon. Call the others and tell them to come.”  
Then he hung up and started to dial a number.  
”Tetsu? It's me. I know where she is...”  
  
Fifteen minutes later Shin spotted Uchi, Noda and Minami outside the old factory. He hurried over to them.  
”Shin!” Uchi met his eyes and motioned for him to be quiet.  
Shin quietly sneaked up to his friends and looked questionly at Uchi.  
”They went in there. Shin, what should we do?”  
Shin had never seen his friend so worried in the time they'd known each other. While he concidered what to do, the rest of the old 3D showed up, and when he saw the tears in Kuma's eyes he made his decision.  
”Back-up is on it's way, but we don't have time to wait for them. We will do what she would do.”  
The others nodded in understandment, fully aware that Shin just ordered a break-in. They all turned to the factory door as one body and charged at it. When they got in however, they froze to the spot. Shin was sure that his heart stopped beating for several seconds. In front of them were a sight that they couldn't really comprehend. There weren't many of them, maybe twenty thugs in all, and none of them had noticed the intrusion, but in this case that would be more than enough. Shin's eyes fixed on Yankumi who was standing between two of the men who held her up, and in front of her stood a man with a gun to her head. But what was the most frightening was that she didn't do anything, just stood there waiting for them to shoot her. When the man cocked the gun he couldn't hold his voice anymore.  
”YANKUMI!” His yell echoed from the steelwalls and was soon joined by the other's voices. While the gang turned to see who was there, Shin watched how Yankumi slowly raised her head and met his eyes. For a few moments nothing happened, she didn't even seem to see him.. But just when Shin was about to turn his eyes away to have a go at the bastards who made her like this, something happened. A small spark of recognition flickered across her face and her eyes lit up. It only lasted a split second, then she slid down to the floor when her holders let go of her to deal with the sudden intruders.  
”Sawada...” the whisper was only barely audiable, but it was all Shin needed. She had seen and recognized him. The next second he had to turn away, because the gang had gotten over their surprise and launched an attack on the boys.  
  
Kumiko didn't have any recollection of how she got to the factory. In fact, she couldn't remember anything after they told her it was time to go. In that moment she died inside. The person who brought her back was the one person she didn't want involved. Sawada Shin. She noticed dimly that the rest of the 3D guys were there too and she cursed at herself for being too weak to help them. This was no fight they could win. She tried to get to her feet and painfully slow she almost managed before she lost her balance and fell backwards. To her surprise she didn't hit concrete, but a warm body.  
”Don't be rash, stupid”, a gentle voice scolded her.  
”Sawada. You shouldn't be here.” Kumiko's voice was weak but firm when she lifted her eyes to meet his. ”Tell the others to get out, you can't win this. You're not supposed to be here in the first place.”  
She watched in horror how the boy shook his head and his eyes hardened for a second while looking at the fight that was going on around them. His former class-mates were desperately fighting to keep the thugs away from the two.  
”They wouldn't stop even if I told them to.”  
”But why? They're going to get themselves killed, Shin. You have to get them out of here.”  
Kumiko almost bit her tounge when she realised that she had called him by his first name. She saw the surprise in his eyes for a split second before his lips crooked into an almost amused smile.  
”Why, you ask. Yankumi, you've saved all out necks more times than we can count. If we didn't try to do the same for you, we would be the worst people ever.”  
Kumiko couldn't hold back a slight smile.  
”Sometimes I wish you had a little less sense of honour. It might keep you alive.”  
”I don't think you need to worry.”  
She looked at him in surprise.  
”What do you mean?”  
”Look for yourself.”  
And Kumiko looked around her. The boys of 3D were badly beaten up, but nowhere near broken. The thugs on the other hand were steadily decrasing in numbers of concious members. Then suddenly a small movement caught her eye. The gang leader had turned desperate and now he stood, pointing his gun at the two of them. Kumiko felt a shiver down her spine, but couldn't definiate if it was fear of anticipation. But when the man spoke she felt her entire body go cold.  
”Nobody move! Unless you want a bullet in your leader. I promise, at this distance I won't miss.”  
It was as if the entire factory had frozen to ice. Everybody was looking between the gun and Sawada Shin. Kumiko hesitated for a second, then she whispered to him where they were sitting on the floor.  
”Tell everyone I'm sorry I caused them trouble.”  
She could feel his gaze, but didn't meet it and didn't offer an explanation. After a few seconds she continued.  
”And also...” she suddenly leaned towards him, ignoring the leader's yell not to move and kissed Sawada Shin softly on the cheek. She met his surprised eyes for a split  second before she placed her hands firmly on his chest.  
”Thank you...”  
  
He felt the push in the same moment that he heard the gunshot, and as he was still sitting hunched he had no way to stop the fall. Before he had time to react he was sitting on the floor looking at Yankumi's lifeless body in front of him. She had taken the bullet for him! He didn't notice the others throwing themselves over the leader, taking the gun from him, nor did he notice when the group from Ooeda showed up. He crawled on all four towards the limp form of the woman he loved, tears obstructing his sight. When he reached her he grasped her hand. The words she had whispered as she pushed him away echoed in his head together with the image of her eyes. She hadn't been scared. On the contrary, the look in her eyes had been completely content. She hadn't hesitated to die.  He sensed rather than saw how the old Ooeda-boss kneeled beside him.  
”What happened boy?” The voice was filled with grief, but still held a trace of hope as he searched for any trace of life in his granddaughter.  
”He was aiming at me... saying he'd shoot if anyone moved... She...” his hand involuntarily flew up to the cheek she had kissed, unable to continue.  
He didn't have to. Suddenly the old yakuza-boss raised to his feet.  
”Call an ambulance, quick! She's still breathing!”  
  



	5. Chapter 5

Two hours from that they came to the hospital was Yankumi finally rolled out of the operation room. In the moment she came out, Shin, Tetsu and her grandfather was beside her. The others were waiting in the waiting-room.  
”How is she?” The old man's voice were firm, but Shin could see the worry in his eyes. Shin himself was a wreck.  
”It was a very difficult operation”, warned the doctor seriously. ”If she doesn't wake up in the next 24 hours, there is nothing more we can do. It's up to her now.”  
They decided to take shifts in watching over her, with her grandfather first. Shin and Tetsu went to the waiting-room to tell the others the situation.  
Fifteen minutes later Uchi sat down beside Shin with a  curious look.  
”Shin, there's something I don't understand. Yankumi kissed you on the cheek before right?”  
Shin nodded slowly and shot an apologetic look at Tetsu who was sitting on his other side. He was well aware of the older man's deep love for his Ojou, but he only smiled back at him. Uchi, who had  no idea what just happened continued.  
”I just don't get it. As far as I knew you guys weren't like that. More friends than student and teacher sure, but that went for all of us.”  
Shin nodded again.  
”You're right. But I confessed to her straight after graduation. She have yet to answer me though.”  
He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and looked in surprise at Tetsu who had gotten to his feet and was now facing the far off wall.  
”I think she did kid.”  
And with this he walked off  to join his boss in watching over Yankumi, leaving Shin sitting speachless with his mouth hanging open. Was he serious? It only took him a few seconds to figure out that he was. Tetsu had no reason what so ever to encourage him, so why would he NOT be serious saying something like that? But in that case...  
”Shin? Oi, Shin?” Uchi's voice pulled him out of his thoughts and he looked at his friend with bafflement still evident on his face.  
”What?”  
Uchi hesitated for a moment before he finally said what was on his mind.  
”Why didn't you tell me that you like her?” There was a slight trace of hurt in his voice.  
Shin sighed and closed his eyes.  
”Because I didn't want it to become a big deal. Especially since we were still her students then. It would have caused trouble for her if it got out at school.”  
”Oh.”  
When Shin heard the tone of Uchi's voice he hurriedly added:  
”Don't get me wrong, it not that I didn't trust you guys to keep it a secret, it's just...”  
”I'ts okay”, Uchi interrupted. ”I know what you mean. Keeping a secret at that school is almost impossible. I don't blame you.”  
The two friends sat in silence for a while and before Shin knew it, he had dozed off. The excitement of the day had finally taken it's toll on him.  
  
”Shin. Wake up.”  
The worried voice of Tetsu woke him up abruplty. His eyes flung open and he looked at the older man with panic in his eyes.  
”What's wrong? Did something happen?”  
Tetsu put a calming hand on his shoulder with a sad smile.  
”Nothing happened yet. But you seemed like you were having a really bad nightmare. Are you okay?”  
Shin stared at him dumbfounded for a moment before the memory of the dream flooded back into his mind. He slowly shook his head.  
”I'll be fine as soon as she wakes up.”  
Ignoring the worried look of the man he rose to his feet.  
”If you need me, I'll be inside.”  
And without giving Tetsu a chance to say anything else he walked off towards the room  where Yankumi was lying, still unconsious. When he closed the door behind him he let out a breath he hadn't even realized that he was holding. He knew what worried Tetsu before. Shin  would be okay when Yankumi woke up. He didn't see an alternative. She HAD to wake up. If she didn't, how would he be able to live on with the knowlege that it should have been him on that hospitalbed? Impossible. He sat down on the chair beside her bed and looked at her with tears in his eyes. She looked so fragile, so pale. Almost transparent. He carefully took her hand and started talking to her, not noticing that Tetsu, Uchi and Kuma was standing outside the door listening.  
  
”When you first came to our class, I thought you were just like the rest. Only looking out for the school's and your own reputation. But when you got Kuma out of trouble that time, I started to wonder. Maybe you weren't so bad after all. I was still suspicious after that, but somehow, you slowly got under my skin. You were so naively sure that you could trust us that we all ended up depending on you. We became unable to lie to you because we knew that you would believe it. Silly, isn't it? But it was a good change you brought about. We suddenly had something to work for, someone who wouldn't riddicule us for it. You would never tell us that it's useless no matter how much we tried, instead you would be happy for us. Without you, we probably wouldn't have been able to graduate at all you know.  We owe you a lot. So you have to wake up so we can pay you back. Don't you dare leave us, you hear? Don't you dare.”  
At this point, tears were flowing freely down Shin's face and he was completely unaware that most of 3-D had gathered with the others in the door and were crying with him. He took a deep breath and started off on a different topic.  
”I'm not sure when my feelings turned towards love. I just know that suddenly I couldn't take my eyes of you. You made me laugh. When I was alone with you I felt like I didn't  have to act strong, I was allowed to show weakness. But I'm never, ever letting you cook for  me again. And I'm rambling...”  
Without being able to form another word he put his head down on the side of the bed and cried. In between sobs he whispered, more to himself than anything else.  
”You have to wake up. You have to be okay. How am I supposed to live if you don't? Why did you have to do that? It should have been me...”  
He suddenly felt a strong hand on his shoulder and looked up into the eyes of Kuroda Ryuichiro. The old man's eyes were gentle but worried and that made Shin break completely. Still with Yankumi's hand in his he lowered his head and apologized to him.  
”I'm sorry. It's my fault. It should have been me getting shot. He was aiming at me... It shouldn't be her. It should have been me.”  
”If it had been you...” the voice was dark and soothing. ”She would have been the one sitting here saying the same thing. Wondering why she wasn't able to protect you.”  
Shin knew he was right, but that didn't help at all. The guilt of being unhurt was still eating away at his heart. But before he could say anything, a weak squeeze on his hand made him look up. And what he saw could have made him dance in joy. Instead he smiled weakly and squeezed back.  
”Welcome back Yankumi.”  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the final chapter to go on LJ when I first wrote this story. At this point in time I have one more chapter for you, then we'll have to see with time.


	6. Chapter 6

Kumiko looked up at her former student with gentle eyes. Truth be told she had been awake for a while but hadn't had the energy to open her eyes. She had listened to the last part of Shin's talking and felt a bit sorry for him. She hadn't noticed when his feelings had changed. Moreover, she hadn't noticed when her own feeling had done the same. She hadn't realized it until his life had been threatened. And then she thought it was too late. But it wasn't. Nothing was ever too late. She tried to smile and hoped that it would have a somewhat calming effect on the boy that sat beside her. He looked completely broken, but there was relief in his eyes when he looked at her.  
  
Shin didn't notice anything that happened around him. Not that Kuroda pushed the button to get the doctor to the room or the reliefed sighs from the door. His eyes were fixed on Yankumi's face, trying to convince himself that this wasn't a dream. When he finally managed to control his emotions again he whispered, more to himself than to her.  
”You're going to be okay. Everything is going to be fine, you will be going home in no time.”  
He saw her lips twitch into a more genuine smile than before and he couldn't help but smile weakly back. She was awake and she was going to live, that was all that mattered.  
  
Kumiko couldn't help but smile at his ramblings. But in the middle of it all a thought hit her.  
”Shin,” she whispered softly, unable to utulize very much of her voice. ”Are the others okay?”  
She saw his eyes widen in surprise before he chuckled softly.  
”You're amazing, you know that? Everyone is fine and those bastards are taken care off. So you just focus on getting well yourself.” The gentleness in his voice made her heart ache and before she had time to analyze the feeling she met his eyes.  
”I'm glad you're okay.” The words were honest and she knew that he caught the underlying meaning of them. She was glad that he was okay. If he had gotten hurt because she wasn't strong enough to protect him, she would never had been able to forgive herself. And it was because of him that she was alive right now. She couldn't leave him, it was as simple as that. When the doctor entered the room and shoved Shin and her grandfather out, she closed her eyes and remembered the hours that she had been unconsious.  
  
 _She had been standing at the river-bank where they used to sit and talk. She could see this bright light down by the water and it felt like it called to her. She knew that if she went, there would be no turning  back. She wasn't afraid to die and the thought about maybe meeting her parents again put a gentle smile on her face. But there was something in the air that made her hesitate. Like a distant memory she could hear a voice. She knew that voice, she was sure of it, even if she couldn't make out the words. She looked around her and there, sitting on the grass was a figure so familiar that she would know it anywhere. But at the same time, this image of Sawada Shin was so very wrong. She had never seen his face so tear-stained, seen him look so fragile and broken. When he lifted his head to look at her she could feel the pain that was reflected in his eyes and in that moment she knew. There was no way she could leave him like this. And she realized something else too, something that she had suspected for a long time. She loved him. There was no other way of describing it. He had always been special to her, no matter how much she had tried to tell herself that she only cared that much and made sure he ate properly because he was her student. She knew that she had crossed the line for him plenty of times. She shot one quick glance at the light again before she turned her back on it and started walking towards the boy with a smile on her face._  
  



End file.
